


Wait for Me

by deere



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: F/M, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-21
Updated: 2018-11-21
Packaged: 2019-08-27 01:53:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16693165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deere/pseuds/deere
Summary: Just a short & sweet little pick-me-up. Set around 3.4, so expect endgame Heavensward spoilers, at the very least.





	Wait for Me

**Author's Note:**

> hello! this is my first time trying out posting to ao3. i may post more, but i tend to keep these to myself... so if you enjoy, let me know! plenty more of these two goofballs where this came from. this is just a short something i whipped up to make myself smile!

Finding herself in front of the grand wooden doors of his office was, in concept, a little surprising. It was unlike her to be so bold, to use her influence to grant herself access to places such as these. A surprise meeting with the Lord Commander of Ishgard… it wasn’t one of her brightest ideas, admittedly. But she _had_ to get these feelings off her chest; she couldn’t take a single second longer of these butterflies in her stomach, which had ceased their fluttering recently and instead began gnawing at her flesh. She had a distressingly fleeting amount of time to do it before she had to set off on her next adventure— it was now or never. So why did her hand hesitate on the handle?

Swallowing her anxieties, the small Hyur allowed her hand to turn the knob on the door of his office, a small breath escaping her as it did. A few moments later, her hip shifted to put weight on it, pushing the large, wooden slab open with only a bit of trouble. Though too shy to lift her gaze to see the man of the hour, a small smile still toyed with the edge of her lips as she stepped into the room and glanced to him.

He, as always, was equipped with full regalia— the attire meant for a prince, in her opinion, that he wore through her entire visit to this grand (but tired) nation. He sat rather strikingly in his seat, with all that bright cobalt blue against the dreary browns the rest of his office was painted with. It almost seemed like he didn’t fit into such a setting; no, she could see him fitting in much more nicely seated among the vibrant flowers of the forests, or the dawdling fireflies of the lakes. Never among all this grey and white and brown that he called home.

Nevertheless, she had no room to judge his contentment. He was a politician, and he seemed happy with the life he led, despite the workload. Though she knew of his secret wanderlust, given that he’d confided it in her during their secret little private meeting at his manor, some part of her knew better that this is where he felt he belonged. And although she wasn’t in a position to understand it, she respected him enough to respect his viewpoint. Still, she couldn’t help the nagging feeling that she could sense something of the ghost of an adventurer in those bright blue eyes. It made her want to revive it.

Ah, speaking of... those gorgeous eyes… Clear and bright as the sky, which were… staring at her. Kindly, but expectantly. She hadn’t been staring that long, had she?

Quickly, Mona straightened up, tucking her hair behind her ears in mild embarrassment as she smiled her _trademark smile_ , in spite of herself.  “Lord Commander.”

“Warrior of Light,” he teased in return, raising an eyebrow ever so slightly. He twirled a pen in his nimble fingers thoughtfully as he stared at her, amusement twinkling in his eyes. “I see you are returned.”

“Yes, an extraordinary observation.” She chided, warming up a bit to the atmosphere. It was friendly and welcoming, and though she should’ve expected such from _him_ , of all people… well, you never know.

“Well, to what do I owe the pleasure?” He inquired. A seemingly harmless question, but she couldn’t help but catch the playful glint in his eyes. He had been hoping to see her, she could tell.

There was tension in the room. Not entirely unpleasant, but largely unspoken. The two leaders had a number of adventures together, by this point— between their trip to Zenith, and the surplus of time spent together leading up to the defeat of Nidhogg— and they’d, admittedly, grown quite fond of each other.

Well… maybe there was a bit _more_ to it than that.

It was hard to explain. It wasn’t in the tangible evidence, but instead, it was a feeling. It was something they’d communicate silently— through eye contact, through ghosts of unnoticeable (to the naked eye) touches, and between the lines of their “Warrior of Light” and “Lord Commander” scripts. It was in the way his eyes lit up when he’d ask for her assistance in big tasks, and the way the fire danced in her eyes when she saw him take control. There was something unspoken in the air, and they both knew it. They just weren’t at the liberty to say it.

Waltzing a little further into the room, Mona sighed. It was a bittersweet one, and the expression on her face was, well enough, a testament to that. Aymeric’s brows etched concern, but he waited patiently for her answer regardless. Her gaze fixed to the floor, she toyed with her fingers, smile at the edge of her lips.

“Seems that another adventure is on the horizon. It’s looking like It’s going to take me a long, long ways away from here.”

“Well, you don’t sound very thrilled. That was always the plan, wasn’t it?” He inquired gently. “Saving Ishgard was only one chess piece in the grand plan to save the realm.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I suppose. You’re right. It’s just…”

“... Mona.”

She lifted her gaze a bit as she approached his desk, running her fingers along the wood. It was an anxious movement, accompanied with a heavy sigh. Then, a chuckle.

“... I don’t know. Maybe… I was getting used to this place.”

Aymeric’s gaze softened. After a few beats, he lifted himself from his seat, circling his desk slowly to meet her in front of it. The two sat in silence for a few moments, Mona continuing to toy with her fingers, though comforted by his presence at her side.

“... This may not come as much of a comfort, but… you know you are welcome here.” His soothing voice dropped to a lower volume than he normally used; this conversation was meant between the two of them, and the two of them only. “These people, these faces— they won’t forget yours. Not any time soon.”

“I know, I _know_ , it’s just—…” she turned her head away from him, shaking it swiftly. Shifting feet, Mona crossed her arms over her chest, gaze falling to the floor. “I don’t know. It’s just… the idea of leaving at all. I feel like I’m leaving…  unfinished business.”

“I suppose you don’t mean the business with our enemies.”

Silence cloaked the room once more. Though his gaze sought after hers, she couldn’t dare meet it. Instead, she thought on what he said. It was true, and maybe she didn’t want to admit it before, but it sincerely had nothing to do with her duties as a Warrior of Light. Somewhere, deep down, she knew this was about her. About Mona.

“... The chapter’s closed on Ishgard. It no longer needs saving like it once did. Duty calls elsewhere— other people are now in need of my help, but…” a sharp intake of breath. “It just… feels so _wrong_.

“I feel like I’m leaving everything behind. The family I built here, the friends I made, the memories; is this how it is to be every time I finish my job somewhere? Am I supposed to— to forge all of these bonds, to spend all this _time_ and _effort_ and _emotion_ on something… and just let it go after It’s all over?

“I walked into this city two years ago a completely different person than I am walking out of it now. It’s just… I don’t know. It’s hard to grasp that… that I have to accept that It’s just _over_ now, and move onto the next life-threatening disaster. And— I don’t know, I think it might’ve been easier if I just hadn’t— “

“—had feelings?” Aymeric suggested smoothly, cutting her off from her rambling. Her lips sealed shut at this guiltily, eyes locked on the pattern of his office’s carpet. He sighed, shifting similarly to the way she had before, crossing his arms and shuffling his feet. “You know, if any other person had walked through those gates, declaring that they were the Warrior of Light, here to save Ishgard… I don’t know that they would’ve had the wild success that you did. You have a personality that just… _shines_. Though it took time, you won the people of Ishgard over, in a way that even I cannot. I know in moments of parting, your emotions may feel like a curse. But in your case, I’d go as far as to call them a blessing.”

Mona rolled those words around in her head for a moment. “... Maybe. But...”

“But?”

Silence. And then, a soft laugh. “You know, if you told me two years ago that one day I’d be standing here, about ready to give everything not to have to go…”

Aymeric’s expression softened, once again. Her words caused an ache in his heart, ever so slight. Hesitantly, he pulled a hand away from himself to reach to her, nimble fingers brushing her silky ashen hair behind her ear in order to see the face she was desperately attempting to hide. Her sheepish gaze found his, and he cupped her cheek delicately, his striking blue eyes meeting her own softer peach.

It felt as if the past few years had been inevitably building up to this exact moment. As their eyes locked, and they simply stared, they could feel everything neither would dare say. Oh, how badly Mona wanted to fall into his arms, let him take the pain and misery away. But she knew she couldn’t. She had a duty to Eorzea— to the world.

Though, maybe that was simply an excuse to run.

“Aymeric…” she whispered quietly, eyebrows stitching together as she reached up and gently took his hand, pressing it closer to her cheek. “We can’t. You know better than anyone, better than me.”

His expression, though gentle, broke her heart. It portrayed every emotion she’d wish he didn’t feel for her at the moment; worry, disappointment, resolution… bittersweet longing.

“I know.” He whispered quietly, brushing a thumb tenderly over the apple of her cheek. His soft eyes melted her into place, and suddenly, it became apparent to her that she couldn’t pull away, couldn’t _leave_ if she tried. “... Not right now, anyway. But you should know, too, that I refuse to close the chapter on you. On this. On… us. Not while I can still see that hope shining in your eyes.”

It felt like a year had passed as those words left his lips, reached her ears. Maybe two more had passed in the time it took for either of them to react, Mona wasn’t quite sure. However, when the stoicism did cease, it was in the form of Aymeric slowly leaning forward, pressing a brief, almost wary kiss to her forehead. And as he pulled away from her, and her eyes found his, the time it took for her to lean up and press their lips together felt much shorter than silence.

It wasn’t exactly a dramatic, novel-worthy kiss; not one you’d expect to be shared between the savior of the realm and the most important political figure in Ishgard. But it was _real_. The raw emotion, the powerlessness… the clumsiness. The way her hand blindly found his chest and her fingers curled into the fabric of his tunic, and the way his hand slid from her cheek to the back of her head for support and to bring her closer. And though brief it was, they wouldn’t forget the buzz of each other’s lips for a long time following.

The office fell completely silent as they parted. And strangely enough, the silence fell somewhere between tense, relieved, and completely relaxed. ...comfortable. Like, for a brief moment, they were in their own little world that no one else could bother them in.

But brief it was, and the reality of their situation soon seeped back in. This was a goodbye.

Mona’s gaze fell and gently, she bumped her head against his chest. Her arm found its way around him, trying to hold onto the moment for as long as she could. Similarly, his arm fell around her, as if trying to hold onto _her_ for as long as possible. And for a moment, they were silent.

“... We’ll see each other again.” she mumbled quietly, as if she only wanted him to hear. “It may not be soon. It may be months from now, or years. But we’ll find each other again, and when we do… I’ll… I’ll be stronger. I’ll be able to give you an answer. This feels so right, it does, but right now…”

He only nodded, and although she couldn’t see it, she did feel it. Even if she couldn’t be sure that he understood entirely, he knew of her and Haurchefant’s relationship. He could see the toll it took on her. And above everything, he could understand the unwillingness to lose someone else she cared about this much.

“... You know, if I had my way, I’d never let you step foot from his office.” He began, matter-of-factly. The bold nature of his comment shocked her a bit, and he pulled away to look at him in surprise. He only offered back a playful smile, cupping her cheek once more. “But I’m afraid we’ve both work to do. And the longer either of us are away, the more of a risk we run that someone will come looking for us.”

It wasn’t a goodbye, so much as a _“we’ll talk later”_. And while it comforted Mona, even just a little bit, her heart still sank to accept that she really had to leave. She pressed her forehead to his, enjoying the last shreds of intimacy the two would be offered for a very, _very_ long time, before reluctantly detangling herself from his embrace.

Against every will, every fiber in her body that begged her to stop, she turned heel and made her way toward the door. In that moment, there was nothing heard but the heels of her boots. And nothing to hear but the way they halted as she reached the exit, turning to look at him once more. Her warm, bright eyes were full of nothing but longing and sadness. And, as he replied silently with a melancholy, reassuring gaze of his own, her hand hesitated on the handle once more.

“Remember to get your sleep, alright?” She asked, small smile playing at her lips. “As much as you can.”

His laugh was small, but his smile genuine. “Of course. As long as _you_ try to stay safe.” He replied quietly, emotion heavy in the eyes that held contact with her own. “… Come home soon, Mona.”

As her throat tightened, so did her grip on the doorknob. And before he could see the emotion spill from her eyes, she nodded, making her swift exit and shutting the door firmly behind her.

The year they had ahead of them after she walked out that door… it felt like one of the longest of their lives.

But hell if it didn’t make seeing each other again all the more worth it.


End file.
